Air resistance provides a formidable barrier to objects moving at high rates of speed. There have been numerous efforts to minimize the effects of moving air over and around a cylindrical body. It is not only the air that must be pushed aside in order for the body of a cylindrical object to move freely through the air, but air resistance and drag may also be caused by turbulence against the outer skin of a cylindrical body, which diminishes aerodynamic design benefits. When considering the reduction of drag on a leading edge of a moving object, the shape and configuration of the foremost section of the leading edge, is an important aspect to minimizing the resistance of the air of fluid moving around said leading edge.
Allowing a smooth air airflow around a surface area is well-recognized as a means to reduce drag. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,807 (Foreman et al.), the injection of an airflow in the bent portion of an s-shaped air intake allows the airflow to be uniform and minimizes pressure drops within the air intake duct. This is a result of the circulating effect of air between the airflow and the inner walls of the duct, where the injected air actually provides a cushion between the high rate of flowing air and the duct wall.
High speed projectile technology for items moving through water have encompassed the idea that the shape of the nose may be done in a manner so as to provide a cavitation bubble around the body of the projectile so as to reduce hydro-dynamic drag. This is example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,698 (Harkins et al.).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,357 (Bains et al.) And U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,648 (Morenus et al.) examples an attempt to take advantage of the air moving around a high-speed object for purposes of guidance. In this invention, an air inlet is provided in the nose of a missile, where the air moving through the air inlet is directed to a specific outlet port that assists in guiding the missile.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,558 (Travor et al.) examples the type of effort given to use an air intake having an inlet port and outlet ports where onrushing air is allowed to move through the nose down in such a manner that will provided a laminar boundary area of air between the body of the object and the air it is moving through. This cuts down on overall resistance. The ports themselves allow air to be projected rearward along the sides of the object, and attempt to provide a secondary cushion of air between the atmosphere and the skin of the object.
A recent usage of cavities on the leading edge of airplane wings, and/or propellers, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,549 (Bushman), in which a cylindrical cavity is defined along the forward edge of a wing or propeller. The cavity is intended only for supersonic speeds, and does not rely on any defining characteristics of using sine wave formation to define the shape and structure of the linear cavity as the present invention does. The Bushman patent utilizes what is effectively half of a cylinder volume to define their cavity, and only disclose a cavity wall that follows a uniform arcual curvature. The present invention defines an open mouth that defines an opening to a cavity within the structure itself, whose circumference exceeds the opening itself. The present cavity is useful for slower speeds, as well as for usage in water and other liquids. Also, the present invention takes advantage of possible multiple cavities, which are neither disclosed or alluded to in the Bushman patent.
The present invention does not use a separate air outlet, but uses the shape of a linear cavity to cause fluid or gas moving toward it to be redirected outward, so as to create a central high pressure ridge that projects outward from the opening of the linear cavity. This ridge, or what may also be considered a linear pressure spike directs oncoming air around the body of the leading edge.
Prior art does not teach the use of a pressure spike to direct oncoming air flow, nor does it teach multiple chambers, which may be used to encourage rapid creation of the pressure spike within the largest or primary chamber. This also prevents the pressure spike from rapidly dissipating during movement through the air. The cavities defined in this invention are also useful with regard to movement through air or any gas, as well as through water or any liquid, since the cavity chamber can provide a liquid pressure spike that allows the liquid in front of the nose of the object moving through the water more easily as the spike causes a cavitation ridge and stationary liquid such as water is able to be directed around the body of the object.